pipelinescenephoto2MANDAN, N.D. (AP) — Hundreds of protesters have left after blocking a construction yard for the Dakota Access oil pipeline in North Dakota.

Morton County sheriff’s spokesman Rob Keller says the crowd of about 500 protesters dispersed early Saturday afternoon after linking arms to block the entrance. No one was arrested, and workers had been evacuated.

Earlier Saturday, Keller says a caravan of about 150 cars left the protest camps and arrived in Mandan, where protesters stood and blocked the intersection of Highway 6 and Main Street. The caravan then headed west to the work yard where construction equipment is kept.

The four-state, 1,200-mile pipeline is complete except for under the Missouri River in North Dakota. Protesters fear the pipeline could affect water supply and disturb tribal cultural sites.

Meanwhile…

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The Texas company developing the Dakota Access pipeline says it’s offered to help pay law enforcement costs related to protests.

Energy Transfer Partners says in a statement Friday that it’s made the offer to the state “but it has not moved beyond that at this time.”

A spokesman for Gov. Jack Dalrymple said the governor’s office hadn’t seen the offer yet and wouldn’t speculate on whether the state would accept.

North Dakota’s shouldered most law enforcement expenses to date, even paying for officers from elsewhere. North Dakota already has approved a $10 million line of credit with its state-owned bank to cover the costs.

The pipeline’s designed to carry oil from North Dakota to a shipping point in Illinois. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and its supporters argue that it threatens drinking water and cultural sites. The company insists it’s safe.